So the Mrs wants a big garden. What do I use?

[Industrial Toys]

Start with a little garden, and if she takes good care of that and behaves herself, tell her maybe she can have a bigger one some day.

 

[Code54]

If funds are available a BCS tiller/power unit is a GREAT gardening tool. Best machine I have ever bought for use in a garden.

 

[bilrus61]

Since I guess your going to use your 7040 in a garden you won't lack power! I got one myself but bushhog with it. I use a L5040 with a Kuhn 62-210 tiller. A incredible work of art in a tiller. It won't ball up weeds like my JD 660 did. I had to get down and clean the tines every 30 minutes. I've not cleaned the tines on the Kuhn ever. Used it for years till some thing most folks would get the bushhog out for. It's pricey. Leaves the garden like chocolate frosting. I would advise however to start with a smaller walk behind and see if that covers your needs. Look at Craigslist for the OLDER troy bilt tillers. You could get a BCS or a Grillo walk behind. Then if your wanting to expand you can cough up the dough for a tiller to go behind that 7040. We cornered the market on Okra and Rattlesnake watermelons this year.

You will HAVE to get a smaller walk behind for weed control between the rows. Mulch and hoeing just won't do it. I guess if your young and do it every day it might. I'm old fat and lazy. One of the best things about getting a troy bilt from Clist is that usually you can just turn around and re sell it without much of a loss if you decide that gardening isn't for you. Which you and your wife will probrobly decide about mid July haha. If she gets out and tends it in July you've got a keeper and get her whatever tools she needs! A swan neck hoe is the best hoe. Made in Holland and worth every cent. good luck!

 

[goeduck]

I mostly use three levels of preparation. In early spring I use the 3 point tiller on the tractor. After that the old school Troybilt or the BCS rear tine walk behind until things are growing. Lastly a Honda front tine to keep things in check while I harvest.

I have used a plow to prep for the 3 point if I was not able to rototill at the end of the previous year.

 

[gimmodog]

If you would happen to have a garden tractor a 4' tiller is much easier and a lot more fun than a walk behind. A walk behind can work you.

 

[Code54]

If you would happen to have a garden tractor a 4' tiller is much easier and a lot more fun than a walk behind. A walk behind can work you.

Some walk behinds are horrible - we had a Troy built that was a true workout! Hated that thing...
Our BCS - not bad to run at all. Still not as easy as a tractor but for gardening the attachment are awesome and I can't say I mind using it in the garden!

 

[kthompson]

I use to use the REAL Troy built which was heavy cast iron with rear tines. Worked great. Garden was maybe 1/4 acre. Learned all about raised beds and plastic as mulch and did very little hoeing and no chemicals for weeds. Used heavy black plastic with holes punched it with pitchfork before unfolding it. Really was low maintenance.

Then we moved to my wife's family farm and we went to over an acre garden and raised bed and walk behind tiller was sold. We began using true tractor and disk and cultivators. No better for peppers and tomatoes but for corn and potatoes much better.

My suggestion is to really plan what she and you want from a garden and really are willing to put into it. Look your land and ability to work it. If you want say a few bushels of potatoes, or tomatoes or any one crop then walk behind tiller and raised beds work good and use plastic or old newspapers or such to control the weeds. Now if you want sweet corn or any other produce to put up or give away or to sell for get the walk behind tiller and move onto a compact or so tractor and real implements.

 

[PandDLong]

In my experience - a walk-behind will be really tough to cut through the sod of your pasture - it'll be a fight to keep the tines from walking across the surface. I would find a way to use an attachment on the Kubota to make your first passes. Perhaps your wife can layout a portion, you get it workable, then she uses the walk-behind to fine tune the soil - and it will cut some pasture if it is just a couple of inches along the side so she can also fine tune the edges. Then onto the next portion - this also helps keep it from being unworkably too big - you stop when she realizes "this is enough"

If you don't kill the grass, I would let it sit after tilling to let the grass come back and then hit it again (and again). Nothing worse than planting a garden which ends up competing with lots of grass.

 

[saxnbees]

In my experience - a walk-behind will be really tough to cut through the sod of your pasture - it'll be a fight to keep the tines from walking across the surface. I would find a way to use an attachment on the Kubota to make your first passes. Perhaps your wife can layout a portion, you get it workable, then she uses the walk-behind to fine tune the soil - and it will cut some pasture if it is just a couple of inches along the side so she can also fine tune the edges. Then onto the next portion - this also helps keep it from being unworkably too big - you stop when she realizes "this is enough"

If you don't kill the grass, I would let it sit after tilling to let the grass come back and then hit it again (and again). Nothing worse than planting a garden which ends up competing with lots of grass.

If you decide to go with a walk-behind, you might want to consider Grillo as well as BCS. I have a Grillo G110 and love it. It is a well made tractor but is a little less expensive than a comparable BCS model.

You might also want to check out the Berta rotary plows to use with the walk-behind tractors. I have not used one but I have seen videos and they appear to work very well at breaking new ground. If I need to break new ground in the future, I will probably consider getting one. The rotary plows are also supposed to be pretty good at building raised beds.

Check out 2 wheel tractors and implements at earthtoolsbcs.com. That is where I bought my equipment and I have been very happy with the experience of dealing with them.

 

[dragoneggs]

If you would happen to have a garden tractor a 4' tiller is much easier and a lot more fun than a walk behind. A walk behind can work you.

Depends a lot on your soil. Rocks is what I seem to be best at growing. I had an 8hp walk behind counter rotating blades that would chew up anything but when it bit a 'too big of' rock, I spent the next hour removing a tine or two to dislodge it. I know this isn't necessarily relevant to this thread but had to vent here... twenty years later.

I like the idea of prepping a smaller area and see the fruits of your wife's labor before committing to the full size. It is a lot of work... especially if you need to remove rocks and amend the soil which I have always had to do because of my locale. A tow behind tiller has to be in your arsenal though IMO.